Returning Scab

[bunnymad1]

Hi my rescue bunny has had an ongoing issue with a scab under her chin which started as a cut. She's had two course of antibiotics (baytrill) and a 20 day course of stronger antibiotics as daily injections. She's also had a dental amd none of this has worked to get rid of the problem. Any ideas? It seems to flair up and then go back down but it always looks sore. Vets seem to be guessing now.??

 

[JBun]

Did the vet do a skin scraping to maybe check for a fungal infection contributing?

 

[bunnymad1]

Nope would you recommend this rather than a blood test or would they show the same results?

 

[JBun]

Well, a skin scraping would show if there is a fungus on the skin itself. I don't believe a blood test would do that.

I can't tell for sure from the picture, but is the fur green around the wound?

 

[zombiesue]

Yeah, I second the fungal infection. It just doesn't look like a normal scab to me. It looks like some other kind of crust.

Does it bother her a lot?

 

[bunnymad1]

It doesn't seem to bother her but when she rubs her chin on things she does it very cautiously. Not green around it. Here's another picture.

 

[bunnymad1]

Here's another picture

 

[JBun]

So is that crustiness and lesions on the skin around the wound? If that's the case, I would think that with a skin scraping, you would have a better shot of determining what the problem is. I don't know how rabbit savvy your vet is, but if you need a second opinion, you can try finding a different vet on these lists.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Here's some info on fungal infections in rabbits, so you can determine if it looks at all like what you are seeing. It also almost looks similar to the skin crusts you would see with burrowing mites, but I don't even know if that is a possibility in this case. It's hard for me to tell from the pictures though.

WARNING: Some of the photos in these links may be disturbing
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/Mange/Sarcoptes.htm

 

[bunnymad1]

Thanks for your help I'll pursue a skin scraping and see what that shows

 

[Imbrium]

I'm sorry your bunny's having to go through so much to get better .

One thing that can potentially be helpful with anything that has your current vet stumped is to contact Dr. Dana Krempels. She's not actually a vet - (among other qualifications) she has a PhD in biology, has "lived with companion rabbits" (her words) for over 35 years, has published a ton of articles on rabbit health, is the president of a rabbit rescue organization and is a board member of National House Rabbit Society.

Dr. Krempels answers rabbit questions for FREE through this website: http://www.allexperts.com/ep/703-35789/Rabbits/Dana-Krempels-Ph-D.htm

 

[bunnymad1]

Thanks so much for your help-hopefully she'll be better soon!

 

[bunnymad1]

So I finally got some answers regarding this scab. Managed to find a bunny specialist not too far away and he sent of some of the scab and a swab for testing. Apparently the scab is caused by a reaction to E. Coli-it has irritated the skin. Vet is confident of treatment and says rabbits always have Ecoli in their droppings-anybody else heard of this? If so can it be passed to humans?

 

[BlueMoods]

Yes, they do, so do cows, so do we, e-coli is normal for many species, including humans. You already have it, have had it all your life so, no worries there.

Now since your rabbit is sensitive to it, make sure any cuts or scrapes are tended and covered ASAP, keep the droppings cleaned up ALWAYS, and be sure to never handle your rabbit after you use the restroom until you wash your hands, remind others to do the same and, if you are unsure, ask them to wash their hands before touching your rabbit. Especially if your rabbit has a scrape or cut. That will go a long way to preventing that happening again.

 

[JBun]

That's great to hear that your vet was able to discover what the problem was. Hopefully with the right treatment now, it will heal up quickly.